lawyer filing papersImagine this: You’re in an accident and already dealing with the stress of sustaining an injury and being unable to work. Your medical bills are piling up and you have no income to help you pay them. What do you do?

Unfortunately, this is a situation that many people find themselves in with no idea of what they need to do to move forward. Luckily, there are ways to help navigate the complex matters following a crash: hire a Michigan car accident lawyer. Here’s why it is so important:

The insurance companies—despite claims that they care of their customers—are looking out for their own bottom line. They can’t profit if they’re paying out the maximum compensation to all claims. So they make settlement offers that are much lower than the victim needs.

Even worse, they try to remove liability from their own customer and attempt to pay out nothing to an injured individual. A lawyer recognizes this, however, and can protect a victim from the underhanded tactics often used by the insurance companies.

Statutes of limitation provide deadlines that injured parties have to file a personal injury claim following a car accident. If you miss the deadline, you may be unable to seek compensation for the damages you have sustained.

Similarly, filing incorrect paperwork or handling the process incorrectly may delay your claim, meaning you can miss the deadline even if you feel you did everything correctly. An attorney recognizes these obstacles and can help you move past them in an effective manner.

In some cases, the insurance company may offer a settlement that is more than or equal to what the victim may recover if they were to go to trial. As such, the settlement offer might be the best option because it keeps you away from court.